Valve Cover Leak - Exxon Valdez-Type of Leak!

[redliner1973]

A couple months ago I am riding along all happy, look down, see that my Suzi is Valdez'ing all over my leg and her left side. I take her home, see it is coming from the valve cover. So I remove the cover, and notice that part of it had 'sucked' into the head, and allowed the leak. so I take the sucked in part, tack it back on the head reinstall, leak check good. Now, fast forward to last Saturday. Same scenario, only this time it is the right side. Same thing, only leaking worse. I pull off the cover, and same thing! Now I try to pull and tack it again, only it has gotten more brittle from all the heat cycles, and rips. So I ordered a new one from the Suzi dealer. The old gasket is only about 3 months old, and is a suzuki part. After searching various posts when I installed the last one, It seemed most people had the best luck soaking the gasket in oil, then wiping off the excess, then installing. I did that. The old gasket is stuck to the head, not the cover, but I am looking for a reason why it got sucked in in the first place. Any thoughts? While I am awaiting the new one to come in, are there any other suggestions on things I might have missed on the last install? let me also say that the 'D' gaskets were replaced at the same time as the gasket, and the bolts were tightened correctly per the manual. I thought about using some permatex H-3 or it's cousin Indian head sealant on the cover, tacking the gasket down to the cover, and installing it that way. sound like a good idea? Silicone sealer is not an option, as it does not mix with oil well, and never got a good seal on other machinery I have worked on using it. Suggestions, anyone?

[SqDancerLynn1]

I see nothing wrong with using gasket cement on one side only.

[redliner1973]

Would you advise oil on the other side to keep it from sticking to the head? Or just dry?

[Anonymous]

I put oil on both sides, but I don't soak the gasket in it. Just a very light coat. This should keep the gasket from sticking when you take off the cover to adjust the valves.

Make sure that you remove all of the old gasket material from the sealing surfaces also.

[redliner1973]

That is basically what I did the first time, I say I soaked it, what i did was dip the gasket in a small amount of oil, then wiped it off with a rag on my fingers. which led me too my problem now. My new gasket is supposed to be here within aweek, but you know how that goes.........